EE40Lx Electronic Interfaces: Bridging the Digital and Physical Worlds

Welcome
Our modern life is filled with devices that communicate between the digital and physical
worlds. Everything from the automobile to the refrigerator is highly instrumented, taking
measurements from many sensors and analyzing the data to make automatic decisions. At the
heart of this activity is the interface: the electronic front end that measures a physical signal,
filters it, then sends the information to a digital computer.
Through EE40Lx, you will build a robot around the MSP430G2 LaunchPad, learning the
fundamental principles underlying these electronic interfaces. This journey starts small a few
craft sticks, springs, and a voltage regulator but eventually you will have a complete robot
capable of bouncing around the environment while responding to light and sound inputs. We
are excited to be your guides for this learning experience!

Instructors

Michel M. Maharbiz
Associate Professor
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
University of California, Berkeley

Tom J. Zajdel
Graduate Student Researcher
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
University of California, Berkeley

Objectives
Analyze, design, build and test electronic circuits, and understand their capabilities and
limitations.
1. Understand fundamental circuit principles
o Lumped circuit model (Kirchhoff's laws)
o Energy storage (capacitors and inductors)
o Time and frequency domain signal representations
o Analog and digital signals, conversion
2. Design, build, and test electronic circuits
o Laboratory practices (breadboarding, test equipment)
o Guided laboratories + robot project

Prerequisites
High school level algebra and trigonometry is required. High school physics is recommended,
but not required. Some exposure to computer programming would be useful for those who
want to dive further into modifying the robots code design. The most important requirement is
a willingness and desire to build things with your hands!

Course Format
The course is divided into 8 modules which will all be released once the course begins. You will
be able to go through the modules at your own pace, but the course will end after 15 weeks.
We urge you to follow along the videos with your own kits and build the circuits along with us.
Each module will consist of the following content types:

Lecture Videos
Cover essential theory in a traditional, conversational format
Bench Videos
Demonstrate physical circuits that you can build and test
Debug Videos
Show common problems you may encounter while building the circuits, how to
diagnose them, and how to fix them
Notes
Short written one-page texts that supplement the information presented in the
videos
Quizzes
These short problems are sprinkled throughout the module to give you an
opportunity to test your understanding. Answering these quiz questions is not
required to complete the course but participation will help the learning process.

Robot Project
The lab-based videos presented in the class largely concern the building of a craft-stick vibrating
hopper robot controlled by the MSP430G2 LaunchPad. This robot as completed in the course
has the following subsystems:

Voltage regulator
Photocell front ends (2)
Speaker driver
Microphone front end
DC motor drivers (2)

These systems communicate with the MSP430G2 LaunchPad in order to allow the robot to
move in response to its environment. Refer to the Robot Project document for details.

Grading
Grading will be based on Problem Sets and a peer-graded Final Project.

Problem Sets (6): 60 %

Final Project: 40 %

We will grade the course on a pass/fail scale. You need a total score of 60% or above for a
passing grade. The Final Project points will be awarded for students who successfully assemble
the robot. Notice that these points are not required to pass the course, but 100% completion of
the problem sets is required for students who do not attempt the robot labs to pass the course.
Students who earn a passing grade will receive a certificate of completion issued by Edx.

Course Outline
Section
Module 0: Prologue
0.1 Course Outline
0.2 What are Interfaces?
0.3 Robot Project
0.4 Breadboards
0.5 MSP430 Programming
Module 1: Fiat Lux!
1.1 LED Circuit
1.2 Water Flow Analogy
1.3 Verifying Circuit Laws
1.4 Voltage Regulator
Module 2: Resistors
2.1 Resistors
2.2 Ohms Law
2.3 Variable Resistors
2.4 Wheatstone Bridge Analysis
Module 3: Amplifiers
3.1 Comparators
3.2 Comparator Front End
3.3 Amplifier Models
3.4 Speaker Driver
3.5 Ideal Amplifier Model
3.6 Microphone Front End
Module 4: Capacitors
4.1 Capacitors
4.2 Capacitance

Robot Part

Voltage regulator

Photocell Front End

Speaker Driver
Electret Mic Front End

4.3 Bypass Capacitors

4.4 Three Observations
4.5 RC Circuits
4.6 Filters
4.7 Phasors
4.8 Microphone Amp Revisited
Module 5: Inductors
5.1 Inductors
5.2 Inductance
5.3 Four Observations
5.4 RL Circuits
5.5 DC Motors and Diodes
5.6 Phasors Revisited
Module 6: Transistors
6.1 Switches
6.2 FETs
6.3 BJTs
6.4 Motor Driver
Module 7: Epilogue
7.1 Final Robot
7.2 Extensions
7.3 Thank you!

Voltage Regulator Revisited

Electret Mic Front End Revisited

Motor Driver

Final Project